September 27, 2012: The News Was Fresh, But the Date? Not So Much

Boy, the phones rang off the hook last week. Folks took one look at the May 9 issue of the Sanford News, spotted the incorrect date at the top of the front page, and went right to the phone.

“Thursday, September 27, 2012,” the date said. Some knew it was just an error. A few thought a stack of old issues had been put on newsstands. One person even thought it had taken these last several months for the last issue in September to reach her.

“Hey, Shawn . . .” Ruby at The Depot on Main Street said as I breezed into the store for the morning paper last Thursday.

“I know, I know . . .” I quickly responded as I headed to the newsstand.

Later that morning, the phone rang as I was heading out of the office to an assignment. Shanna, our receptionist, answered and announced that the call was for me. It was my friend, Ray.

“Is he calling about the date?” I asked Shanna.

Shanna asked. Ray said no.

“Please tell him I'll call him from the road,” I said and headed out the door.

Usually Ray has a suggestion for the paper. I dialed his number, he picked up, and I said hello.

“Shawn, did you know that the date's wrong on this week's issue of the Sanford News?”

Last week was a big one in Sanford. The city unveiled its new logo and tagline, “Explore. Create. Grow.” The Nasson Health Center started hosting tours as it prepares to open this Tuesday. City councilors gave dog owners a couple of weeks more to review a proposed ordinance that will increase their responsibilities for their pets in public. All sorts of stuff. I hope readers took more away from last week's issue than the discovery of an incorrect date at the top-left of the front page.

Last week's incorrect date represents the first day we started to use the upgraded editorial computer system back in September. Although we would like to eliminate that date, it pops up each day on our company's front pages as part of the banners of the newspapers and needs to be changed by a page designer. Sometimes, as with last week's Sanford News, it gets overlooked in the rush to hit deadline. There were several last-minute minor redos — as is usual — to fix things on the page . . . and, well, this one just got by us.

Wasn't there a show in the 1980s, in which a guy would wake up every morning and find the next day's issue of the paper on his doorstep? I never saw the show, so I can't tell you if he used such advanced word for good or ill — if he stopped tomorrow's crimes before they could happen, or if he confidently bet on baseball. I guess my reference to the show does not apply here, as it's a past date we had on last week's issue, and not a future one, so I digress.

I'm a fan of David Letterman but do like to tune in to Jay Leno once in a while to catch his weekly “Headlines” segments. On these occasions, Leno shows his audience and viewers at home erroneous headlines that people throughout America have clipped from their local papers and mailed to “The Tonight Show.” Almost always, the mistakes are hilarious — unfortunate misspellings, poor grammar or choice of words — and I often laugh until I have tears in my eyes. I sympathize with the editors and reporters and overall staff at those newspapers, but I trust they have senses of humor about themselves and even get a kick out of landing on “The Tonight Show.” All the same, it's my goal never to have the Sanford News appear on that program.

If a newspaper makes a factual error, it can correct it in the next issue. If something needs clarification in the next edition, a newspaper will provide it. Smaller mistakes, however, such as a grammatical slip or a misspelling buried in a whole paper filled with words correctly placed, also make editors wince, even if the errors are likely to pass unnoticed.

Several years ago, I worked at a weekly paper out of state. We were approaching the anniversary of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. Weeks in advance, I wrote an editorial about the occasion that I hoped would pay tribute to the fallen, put everything in perspective, and contribute to the ongoing efforts to cope and heal. I went through a lot of drafts. I read the piece several times. I even read it aloud to my managing editor for his feedback. Others read it too.

Picture, then, how crushed I was when we published the editorial and I read that I had in one instance written plant instead of plane when referring to the hijackings. Not the kind of thing spell-check would catch. I can't print the word I blurted out when I caught that mistake.

As for last week's error, it's a minor one. Given that it provoked much response, though, I thought I'd comment on it. Maybe I'm putting a spin on it, but to some degree I see such a response as a sign of the faith and trust readers have in their local newspaper. If such errors were all too common, people would just roll their eyes when coming upon yet another one. Reaction such as we've gotten in the past week suggests our errors are rare sightings.

When I worked at that other newspaper, I would occasionally hear from an Irish guy in town who loved to rib me when he spotted an error. He'd give me a rough time and, more often than not, would end the call by saying to me, “I enjoy talking with you. Just think, if you never made mistakes, we'd never cross paths.” I always responded by saying, “I enjoy talking with you too. Just think, if you called every time we did something right, we'd cross paths more often.”

The truth is, here at the Sanford News, we appreciate all feedback. We expect to be called on our errors, even the small ones. We're kept sharp and accountable that way. Newspapers are human documents.

To those who reacted to last week's error with gentle humor and understanding, we thank you.

And to the guy who called and said he bought two copies because he's convinced the issue one day will be a collector's item, we thank you doubly.

Shawn P. Sullivan is the editor of the Sanford News. He can be reached at ssullivan@sanfordnews.com.